they advised george w. bush, al gore and sarah palin before their famous debates. with the stakes so high, what marks do our political insiders give these candidates? we'll tell you, in the "nightline" report card. >>> and, what's your percent? are you in the 47%? what does it take to be in the 1% of the 1%? this year, the percentage has taken on a life of its own, and we get right to the point. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is a special edition of "nightline," one-on-one, the candidates debate, october 3rd, 2012. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. tonight, a high stakes showdown as president barack obama and mitt romney took the stage in denver to go head to head for the first time. an estimated 60 million americans tuned in to watch this critical moment in an often contentious presidential campaign with the election just 34 days away. crucial swing voters still undecided. with romney trailing in the polls, time running short, tonight could be his turning point. here's ho